Nanotechnology experts come together at the Nanotechnology Conclave 2009

Written by Anand

Wednesday, 15 April 2009

New Delhi : Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) along with Department of Science & Technology, (DST), Government of India, Gwangju Institute of Science & Technology (GIST) and Tamil Nadu Technology Development Promotion Council has inaugurated the fourth Nanotechnology Conclave 2009, a two-day conference that brings together Nanotechnology experts from across the globe to share their expertise and latest technology advances as well as reflect on the future trends in this field.

Dr. V. Rao Aiyagari, Mission Director (Nano Mission) & Head – Science and Engineering Research Council, DST, Government of India said that since 2001, total investments made in Nanotechnology by DST have been $144 million.

The eleventh five year plan has dedicated investments worth US$ 200 million for the technology. The department has setup 11 centres of excellence and proposed three institutes on Nanotechnology in Mohali, Bangalore and Kolkata.

Speaking at the Inaugural session, Dr. T Ramasami, Chairman, TNTDPC Governing Body & Secretary to Government, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, stated that a lot of efforts are being taken by the Research Community, Academia and Industry, but much of these are not collaborative.

He challenged we need to stop working in silos and work together towards effectively translating knowledge generation into wealth generation. Reinstating the huge opportunities created by Department of Science and Technology’s NanoMission through which almost Rs 1000 crores is planned to be released over a period of 5 years, he invited the Industry to come forward and take advantage of this opportunity, and evolve more Public-Private-Partnership mode businesses in Nanotechnology. He also challenged the various R&D efforts in Nanotechnology to focus on providing solutions to various social problems. He said that CII has to play an important role in bringing the nanotechnology products to market by working with various stakeholders. He said that CII and DST will join hands together to celebrate Indian Nanotechnology Product in the near future.

Dr. Dipankar Banerjee, Chief Controller, R&D (AMS), & Distinguished Scientist, DRDO, Ministry of Defence, Government of India, New Delhi stated that India is positioned on the strategic map for Nano products as Indian investments in the technology match that of Ireland, Canada and Switzerland. Mr. Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman, CII National Committee on Technology & Chairman & CEO, HCL Infosystems Ltd, stated that Nanotechnology is already being applied in industrial applications, production technology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, agriculture, transportation and electronics among others. It is yet to come of age, and presents huge scope for business. Market for Nanotechnology is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 33% between 2008 and 2015.

In the welcome remarks, Dr. M Vidyasagar, Chairman, Nanotechnology Conclave 2009 & Executive Vice President, TATA Consultancy Services, listed Nanotechnology amongst the genre of Information Technology and Biotechnology. He believes that Nanotechnology is going to be an important activity for future. His opined that as Nanotechnology needs capital, it is yet to make much impact on business prepositions. He remained optimistic about India forging an effective identity for Nanotechnology products, given proactive initiatives taken by the Government and industry.

Prof. Kurt E. Geckeler, Chair, Department of Nanosystems Engineering (DNE) Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) suggested that Nano materials have become the driving force for the world, despite the ongoing downturn. Industry must maintain a constant dialogue with science and engineering fraternity, to keep up with leading performance in this field.

Summing up the Inaugural session, Mr. Anjan Das, Sr. Director & Head – Technology & IPR, CII said that CII, along with DST will look forward to celebrating Industry-Academia joint research in the future Nanotechnology Conclaves. He stressed on the serious need for shaping innovative PPP business models in Nanotechnology, as hinted by Dr. Vidyasagar, Chairman, Nanotechnology Conclave 2009 & Executive Vice President, TATA Consultancy Services.

Nanotechnology with its wide array of applications in the fields of agriculture, textiles, cleaning, housing materials, clean drinking water, etc, has plenty to offer to the business fraternity. A landscape of industry representatives today are talking about creating wealth from the knowledge formed through Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology revenues are estimated to reach $1 Trillion worldwide by 2015. It is often considered as a new revolution, as was the industrial revolution, because nanotechnology manipulates matter at the atomic scale to create new applications in materials, medicine, robotics, electronics and energy.

The fastest growing segments of the market are scanning probe microscopes, with a CAGR of 19.4% between 2007 and 2012, and charged particle microscopes with a CAGR from 2007 to 2012 of 9.0%. Optical microscopes are projected to have the lowest growth rate of any major market segment (5.6% CAGR). As a result, charged particle microscopes, which have the largest market share of any product segment, are projected to increase their market share further, from 52% in 2006 to 52.1% in 2012. Optical microscopes are projected to lose market share, from 26.2% in 2006 to 21.9% in 2012. In 2006, semiconductor manufacturing was the dominant end-user market for microscopes, with 31% of the total market, followed by life sciences (27%) and materials (24%), and nanotechnology (10%). Nanotechnology and semiconductor manufacturing are the fastest-growing end-user markets with CAGRs of 19.4% and 10.2% respectively.